Briana Haven
Briana Lockewood is the current Baroness of the Oak alongside her husband Daryl Lockewood and she is the mother of Jasper Aeydan Lockewood. She served as the Second-in-Command of the Arbor Wardens under Alastar Woodcourt until she stepped down. Briana is an excellent weapon master and a renown soldier - permanently making her mark in the Ashen Coast's history by becoming the Giantslayer after having struck down three Ollmhor by herself. Briana has since retired from active duty citing desires to focus on her family, raising her son and picking up after the duties of her husband in running the Oak after he announced a withdrawal from active noble duties. Personality Ever a woman of action, Briana has always allowed her deeds and her merits to speak for her. Having grown up with a desire to make her mark in the history of Azeroth, she has an unrelenting drive to secure one victory after another on the battlefield. Powerful, unafraid, and a master of battle, Briana is famous for her suicidal charges into enemy lines and her ability to hold the attention of several assailants on her own - most notably the three Ollmhor she single handedly slayed. While she is all of that, there is much more to Briana. She is very strict on military discipline and harbors a deep resentment to those who would flee a battle, or even disrespect or disrupt a chain of command. Formalities and titles are also very important to this distinguished woman. To her, respect is earned and she believes those who outrank her earned that rank one way or another. Additionally, Briana does have a softer side saved only for Jasper Lockewood, the child born of her marriage to Daryl, her sisters Idrya and Adaliene, and by extension Idrya's daughter Masakari. Early Life Briana Haven is the eldest daughter of Clidna and John Haven Jr, and the elder sister of the twins Idrya and Adaliene. Inspired by stories told by veterans of conflict, she sought to become a warrior of renown. She often practiced honing her skills with her sister Idrya and the local guards. On rare occasion, her father would teach her on how to improve her technique, ways to outsmart her foes in swordplay, and the importance of strategic blows against an enemy. She learned how to write, read and express herself properly from her mother. A majority of her time growing up was spent learning to improve her abilities, even during and after the Scourge of Lordaeron. Such dedication would later pay off for Briana as her mother fled to the Scarlet Crusade with her and her sisters in light of the Scourge of Lordaeron. The Scarlet Crusade When Lordaeron had fallen to the Scourge, the Havens retreated to the ranks of the Scarlet Crusade. Clidna, Briana's mother and a master archer in her own right, quickly rose up among the Scarlet's ranks and wielded that influence to keep her daughters out of the battlefields. Briana and her sisters all learned to fight with deadly skill. Briana was considered able in battle, rivaling a good portion of the Scarlet's best combatants, but the demands of Clidna Haven kept her from the Undead Scourge. However, with time, the sisters all found opportunity to seek vengeance on the undead as they had come to terms with the grave reality of their situation. After venturing out on multiple missions to thin the Scourge's ranks in Lordaeron, Briana quickly learned how to wield her blade to protect not only herself, but those around her too even at the cost of her own life. The Haven sisters spent every mission under their mother's command. Following a bloody act of betrayal, Briana and her sisters were forced to flee from the Scarlet Crusade after what the Scarlets sought the heads of her sister Idrya who, in a series of moments full of conflicted emotions and confusion, Idrya turned her blade on her allies and struck down three Scarlet soldiers. The Crusade, having growing to a fanatical state of zealotry, had threatened to kill a long time friend of Idrya's if he didn't kill his afflicted mother before she turned into one of the undead. With the combined effort of the Havens, the sisters managed to survive the Scarlet Crusade's manhunts and eventually found herself fleeing south to Stormwind while Clidna went missing. Northrend Briana was absorbed by the life of a soldier and when a second plague of undeath ran through the southern half of the continent, and she quickly dispatched any afflicted she came across. She would later sign on with the Seventh Legion when the Alliance decided to sail for Northrend and deal with the Lich King and the other hostile forces of the Frozen Wastes. She was stationed in Wintergarde Keep and constantly battled the overwhelming amounts of undead in the Dragonblight. The Seventh Legion held off wave after wave of ghouls, geists and risen gryphons but lost the lower village with the sudden appearance of Naxrammas. The Seventh Legion provided Briana with a squad of soldiers and she led them through the lost village to drive back the undead trying to claw their ways into the homes where survivors were trapped within, and escorted the villagers to safety. The mission wasn't a complete success and Briana's group was suddenly circled and swarmed by ghouls and geists alike. The last few villagers they had been trying to escort to safety were lost in the confusion. The undead were cut down and Briana's squad retreated to the safety of the keep but Briana didn't lead them back. She was overwhelmed by the undead's numbers when cut off from the rest of the group. Briana awoke a week later in an infirmary in Dalaran and then sent home with a medical discharge, a medal of service, and a minimal paycheck. She had been informed that, while she had fallen in battle, she had taken the undead that swarmed her down with her. It was due to her injuries sustained that she had been discharged from the Seventh Legion and deemed no longer fit for combat. The Blades of Greymane While Briana's sisters signed on with the Blades of Greymane in relatively similar periods of time, she did not join until a while later. She was determined to find a Lordaeron based order to drive the undead out of her homeland. Months of searching for such an order came without fruition, and Briana deemed all of the Lordaeronian orders that claimed to move on Lordaeron to be completely inept. After speaking to her sister Idrya, she determined that the Blades would be her next best bet to fight the undead. Briana Haven joined the Blades through recommendation by her sisters and immediately made an impact with her first campaign under the Gilnean order. Later on, Briana would aid Alastar Woodcourt in the formation of the Arbor Wardens and take her place as his second-in-command. The Giantslayer Whether it was striking down a multitude of enemies that surrounded her and her allies, or the task of single-handedly striking down one of the Ollmhor on three seperate occasions, Briana was dubbed the Giantslayer by the Gilneans. It's a title she's known better as than her own name in some cases, and has seemed to accept the title as an official one. The title has served as a rallying sound on the field of battle, influencing those around Briana to fight on regardless of the situation. From Dame to Baroness After serving under the Blades in a series of battles, Briana was dubbed an unlanded knight of the Reach by Derrik Grayfield. Having provided her allies with devastating displays of martial prowess by slaying entire units single-handedly, striking down three Ollmhor and even bringing down a Frost Wyrm at the Dreadpass, she became a major player in the battlefield - often turning the tide in favor of her allies. Briana's prowess on the battlefield earned her a Knighthood with the Reach, a commanding position in the Arbor Wardens and later a political marriage into the Barony of Oakwood. During on of the Reach's major meetings, Lord Lerren Dayne hinted to everyone assembled that some marriages were to be made, and heirs established. While this was directed at Daryl Lockewood and Remegis Velanaris, the then leader of Ridgebane, Lerren had seen fit to put Briana on the spot. At first, Briana was opposed to the idea but was later convinced of its importance by Alastar Woodcourt. She agreed to marry Daryl Lockewood, believing that Remegis Velanaris' views promoted ineptitude and laziness, to properly unite the eastern and western parts of the Reach, from Highroost to Oakwood. Despite her friendly nature towards Remegis, she does not see him worth much more than an established soldier on the battlefield. Briana has fallen into the role of leadership rather well. It's become second-hand nature for her. She's earned the respect of her peers through her deeds in battle but initially had little experience in politics. The Giantslayer was being coached by her husband, Daryl, and quickly grasped the way politics works in the Ashen Coast and now serves as the voice for the Oak. Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Lordaeronian Category:Warriors Category:Blades of Greymane Category:Arbor Wardens